Without college-level learning, American workers simply won't have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in today's global economy. The country's long-term economic recovery will rely on getting a greater number of high-quality degrees into the hands of a larger, more diverse pool of graduates. College and university governing boards that…

In the Fall of 2008, the American Youth Policy Forum hosted a series of three Capitol Hill forums showcasing the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The goal of these forums was to educate national policymakers about the importance of: (1) improving the science and math competencies of…

Millions of Americans remain unemployed. Yet, as of July 2010, about 3 million mainly STEM-related jobs were vacant across the U.S. economy. More firms are beginning to report that even though there are huge numbers of available workers, those workers do not have the skills the firms want. Businesses are struggling to find the talent needed to…

From auto mechanic to HVAC technicians, many occupations require repair skills. For jobseekers with the right skills, there are many advantages to a repair career. Repair work provides millions of jobs throughout the United States. Wages are often higher than average. And in many occupations, the employment outlook is bright. Plus, most repair…

After confiscating a 1997 Chevy Tahoe in a drug bust, the Campbell County Sherrif's Department asked the author and his students to convert a drug transport vehicle into a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) vehicle. Founded in 1983, D.A.R.E. is an organization that puts police officers in K-12 classrooms to teach students a series of…

A recent policy direction in many OECD countries has been to increase workforce participation for women of childbearing age; a policy direction which seemingly runs counter to a need for improved work-life balance for women themselves. This article explores the impact of this somewhat contradictory "push-pull" of policy by examining some…

American policy makers, educators, and others are concerned that predicted workforce shortages in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields will have a catastrophic impact on the economy. This article takes a realistic look at the "STEM problem," identifying how community colleges can be a part of the solution. We provide…

Sociolinguists have recently employed the notion of spatiotemporal scales to explain the changing social status of linguistic codes across social and geopolitical domains. Scales enable us to address the portability of semiotic resources in migration with great insight. In addition, unlike romanticized orientations to globalization and…

Stagnant earnings and growing inequality in the US labor market reflect both a slowdown in the growth of worker skills and the growing matching of good-paying jobs to skilled workers. Improving the ties between colleges, workforce institutions, and employers would help more workers gain the needed skills. Evaluation evidence shows that training…

Education and skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are important in a global economy increasingly focused on high-growth, technology-driven occupations. Yet, many states face a shortage of STEM-skilled students and workers. A number of states have built powerful and productive STEM education and skills strategies to…

There is much disagreement in the literature over the extent to which graduates are mismatched in the labour market and the reasons for this. In this paper we utilise the Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society (REFLEX) data set to cast light on these issues, based on data for UK graduates. We find substantial pay penalties for…

Overskilling is the phenomenon whereby a worker's skills are underutilised in his or her job. Overskilled workers are employed, but they are underutilised and mismatched, in that their skills and abilities are not a good match with the requirements of the job. Overskilling can lead to decreased wages and job satisfaction, which suggests that the…

The graduate of the Roofer apprenticeship program is a certified journeyperson who will be able to: (1) understand the principles and practices of roofing; (2) know the characteristics and to understand the actions and interactions of roofing materials; (3) interpret plans and specifications and to layout and develop projects accordingly; (4)…

This article discusses some of the issues that surround the internationalization of higher education as a way to open discussion about the construction of an alternative cosmopolitical vision of the university, necessary if the university is to fulfill any historic tasks concerning the creation of globally aware citizens. The authors indicate that…

In the midst of an economic recession, double digit unemployment rates, and financial bailouts lies a promise of economic recovery through investments and training for a green economy and green collar occupations. This article discusses the impact of the green revolution on job creation and on career and technical education (CTE). The green…